Kon-Tiki - The democratization of biochar production - A Review

Hans-Peter Schmidt and Paul Taylor recently published the article "Kon-Tiki - the democratization of biochar production" on the Biochar Journal website. You can see a video of the Kon-Tiki firing here: Kon-tiki Video Link. You can read the whole article by clicking here. We recommend and encourage you to click through and read the full article.

The article looks at the potential issue that, with competing demands for the biomass the biochar is made from, and with increasing applications for biochar, the cost of biochar may remain too expensive for smaller farmers to purchase for use on their farms. The answer to this issue then becomes finding a way that these farmers can produce enough biochar themselves for their own needs, from the biomass their own properties create. The only way we can achieve this is to develop for them an inexpensive method of creating bulk biochar by using simple means.

The Kon-Tiki kiln is a recent innovation in biochar production which has been 100% developed by theIthaka Institute.From the start this was the goal they had in mind. This article takes you through the challenge of designing and constructing the kiln, the method and journey through to the end result. We hope you enjoy the read and are tempted to acquire one of these kilns for your own biochar production.

A message from co-author Paul Taylor: - As the Kon-Tiki Kiln catches fire around the world, we plan to share pictures and stories from Kon-Tiki craftsmen from the Amazon to Zambia, from Switzerland to Nepal, and from Tasmania to California: Please send us your Kon-Tiki photos and experiences to be included in the world map of Kon-Tiki.

The Ithaka Institute has funded the entire development of the Kon-Tiki from our own resources, which has brought us to the limit of our financial possibilities. Since we provide the design as open source to farmers everywhere, we can draw no financial gain from this work. If you would like to see further democratization of biochar production around the world, please support our work with a donation to the Ithaka Institute, so that we can continue our research for the development of the Kon-Tiki as well as other exciting projects which we hope to be able to share with you in the future.